The families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip warned Thursday evening in Tel Aviv that they had reached “the end of their patience” and demanded to be received by the government in the evening.
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“No more patience, now we are going to fight,” said the Forum for the families of the hostages and missing on Thursday evening.
According to the Israeli army, 224 families were contacted to be informed that their loved ones were hostages.
“We are demanding that the cabinet speak to us this evening and tell us how they intend to bring them back today. We are intensifying the struggle, we are no longer waiting to be led, we are leading the struggle,” said Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of Romi Gonen.
“For twenty days the government has been silent, we do everything ourselves,” lamented Eyal Sheni, the father of Roni Sheni, a 19-year-old soldier who has been held hostage or disappeared.
“I ask one thing, get off your butt, help us and take responsibility,” he added.
Hamas’ military wing “estimated” Thursday that “nearly 50” Israeli hostages have been killed by Israeli strikes since the start of the war, figures which cannot be confirmed by AFP.
Four women held hostage have been released so far by Hamas.
In a new and hybrid form, a platform of “thousands of volunteers”, combining experts from civil society and reservists from the famous intelligence unit 8200, help within a common HQ to identify and locate hostages .
The families have grouped themselves into a “Forum for the families of the hostages and missing” and are mobilizing their own resources, including diplomatic ones.